IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) is a great comedy, great road picture, an excellent romance! It is also a good example of the challenges of the Mars/Venus perspectives.
Socialite Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) petulantly flees her father after dear old dad kidnaps her for eloping with King Wesley (no, he is not a king; he has a very pretentious name). Ellie tries to find her way across country and it is one stumble after another for her, until she meets newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable) who follows her to get an exclusive story about her escapade.
Peter does what he can to ingratiate himself to Ellie and to keep his story subject alive, for it is apparent she is not at all prepared for a life on the road, even temporarily. Peter wants a story, Ellie wants to get back to King Wesley, so they form an uneasy alliance. While they are quite wary of one another in the beginning, the two warm as they travel together, even sharing a room at an auto lodge, with a blanket on a clothesline between them as their "Walls of Jericho."
But at the moment when all seems to be turning out alright between them, there's a serious mis-communication between Ellie and Peter. Peter makes the emotional jump into the unknown with Ellie but doesn't tell her, and Ellie is feeling abandoned just when she thinks she is about to embark on real love.
Now, you may ask, "How is this Mars/Venus?"
True, this isn't your usual dating ritual going on. But the expectations in communication are all there, with the painful misunderstandings we can all relate.
Ellie is destined to fall for Peter Warne, for women love a man with a plan. Through much of the movie, Peter's plan is not to romance Ellie, but to be one step ahead and keep an eye on her. Men love a woman with a strong sense of self-awareness, which describes Ellie perfectly, even as she's whining about having to eat raw carrots, or sleeping in the straw, or hitchhiking for a ride. Peter's acerbic comments about Ellie's privileged upbringing do not insult her, since she knows he is just stating the obvious about her. She knows who she is and he knows to take the lead in a situation. Both have that wonderful, undefinable common sense attitude, yet they call each other little screwy.
Peter has reached a decision about his feeling for her and acts on them; not to her, but a third party. Yet, it is at this time in the relationship where Ellie finds herself abandoned, and she assumes the worst about Peter. What else can she think? She wakes up alone.
This movie is nearly 80 years old, and it is about modern attitudes of men and women in a relationship. It is fascinating that the classic gender conventions are turned on its ear with this couple; he is a communicator (a journalist) and she's independently wealthy (eliminating her need for security in the relationship).
Watch this delight on your own if you've missed it. I haven't really given too much away and the charm of this story is the way it's played out.